Shopping in Providenciales

Providenciales has limited shopping opportunities compared to other destinations. We don't have any malls or large shopping centres and there are hardly any international chains here. Nearly all tourist-oriented shopping is located in the Grace Bay area, which consists of mostly jewellery and souvenir shops.

See our customs allowances for visitors page for information on how much stuff you can bring back duty free to your home country.

What to Buy

There isn't any local 'must-buy' souvenirs, and indeed there are actually few souvenirs actually produced in the country.

Island Roast is a locally ground and roasted coffee (although it isn't grown here). Some shops feature sculptures or ornaments made from conch shells produced by local craftsmen. Finally, there are a few local artists with their paintings for sale, but many paintings you see marketed as local aren't from the Turks and Caicos but rather Haiti (see below).

Next up is art from the Haitian Community. Some is locally produced but much of it is simply imported from Haiti. A common form of Haitian art is painted sheet metal sculptures, which is for sale in many local shops, including at the airport. Haitian paintings are also for sale in many shops with varying price ranges, but are generally mid-priced ($50 for a smaller canvas).

Everything else you see in shops (including shells) is imported and is the same stuff sold across the Caribbean. Due to the small size of the country, you'll see a lot of Jamaica and Bahamas goods being sold (probably due to retooling costs in Chinese factories to make Turks and Caicos branded trinkets).

Shopping Locations

There isn't any local 'high-street' or central shopping district in Providenciales. Most shops are organized into plazas, which have between 4 and 20 shops, and most of the plazas are located in the Grace Bay area.
See our Shopping Directory page for a list of shops and their locations.